Anticipating Change

Change. Sometimes it can be frightening. Also, sometimes, even after change has occurred, we can still be surprised and startling. I recently put a suit of armor in my office to store for a short while before returning it to its owner. I knew it was in here, but his morning when I came into my office, that suit of armor startled me. In fact, later in the day when I came out of my restroom, it startled me again.

Change is inevitable and we can either be afraid of change, or we can anticipate it, plan for it, even embrace it and triumph through change. Though not all change is good, change is unavoidable. By anticipating change, through something author Sam Chand calls “futuring” we can plan in advance and lesson, if not eliminate, being startled or surprised.

STRENGTH IN UNITY

I often hear negative and disparaging remarks about denominations and it troubles me. I was on TBN once and the host made a comment that indicated that a particular problem was unique to denominations. I quickly reminded him that that particular problem occurred in independant and non-denominational churches as well. He agreed and we moved on. The point being that there is this myth that being an independant somehow results in a superior church model. This is a myth because there are as many disfunctional independant and non-denominational churches as there are denominational churches.

Last week I traveled to North Dakota to preach the dedication sermon for the Dunseith Church of God (Wind of the Spirit Ministries) as they moved from their small wood frame building, into a stately stone building that was more than twice the size of their former building. Our church has supported the ministry of Pastor Daniel and Sandi Bean for about two years. When I arrived I found that the Solid Rock Church of God from Mobile, Alabama was there with 40 people, and another Church of God from Georgia was there with another dozen or so people. The state youth director from Kansas, Bill Harrison, was there where he took time to minister to youth in the area.

In addition the state overseer, Jeffery Robinson, his brother Jeremy and their father Julian Robinson were there as well. The pastor of Solid Rock Church of God is Glenn Barnhill and his associate pastor, who heads up home missions projects, Tommy Pike, were there for the celebration as well. Solid Rock Church of God purchased the new building for the Dunseith Church of God and at their request the building was dedicated in memory of Jeannie Robinson, the wife of Julian Robinson.

As I saw all the activity and the outreach, and knowing the contribution of time, talent and money to the Dunseith Church of God by so many Church of God faithful, it occurred to me that this is the strength of a denomination. We are a family and we celebrate with one another the success of each of our churches or ministries. Looking at all that was accomplished I was proud to say that I am a pastor in the Church of God of Cleveland, Tennessee.

Be Inspired

As leaders we need to be inspired. We may be inspired by a vision, by a great leader, or by the success of others. Most of the time we are inspired by great men who have done great things. One of the marks of a charismatic leader is that he or she overcame great obstacles to achieve their success.

I am inspired by the pastor of a small church in North Dakota. Daniel and Sandi Bean have been serving the little Dunseith Church of God for about five years now. They are from Georgia, but they went to serve a little church with about a dozen worshippers. Recently they've had about 45 worshippers. They both made great sacrifices to go to a church that few people would even have considered going to. They have worked tirelessly among the Native Americans and have seen lives transformed and have witnessed great tragedy among the people they love and serve.

Recently they were attempting to build a new building, nothing opulent; in fact two Church of God churches from Alabama had committed about 40,000 dollars. Instead, the Methodist church building not far from the Dunseith Church of God was for sale. It was appraised for around 60,000 (which is a lot in that area), and Daniel and Sandi knew it was beyond the possibility for their small congregation to purchase. After some inquiry and a number of serendipitous connections with the realtor, an offer of $20,000 was made and accepted. The a group from the Church of God in Alabama agreed to purchase the building outright for the Dunseith Church of God.

God honors faithfulness. I am inspired by Daniel and Sandi Bean and hope that others will be as well.

Leading like a coach

I like the coaching paradigm for leadership.  A coach should be looking at the long-term implications of the current practices.  He or she should be developing the current talent, constantly recruiting new talent, and then putting people into roles where they will be most effective.  When the individual is fulfilled and fruitful, the entire team benefits.  Think like a coach when you lead.

Lighten Up!

Miserable leaders make for a miserable organization. Too many leaders are miserable, defeated, fatigued, frustrated and angry, and then they wonder why everyone around them is the same way. I believe that a leader must have a sense of humor, even being able to laugh at him/herself. Joyful leaders create a climate for a joyful and hopeful organization.

Jesus came to give us joy and an abundant life (John 16:24; John 10:10). The Apostle John tells us that he writes so that our joy may be full (1 John 1:4). The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to present us faultess before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10). Yet I meet and read the posts of so many mad pastors. Lighten up. Enjoy the journey.

I once heard someone talk about "destination disease." They imagine that when they get "there"--wherever there is--then they will be happy, satisfied, and joyful. But it turns out that "there" is a moving target and few people ever get there, so I've decided to enjoy the journey. It's a good day to be alive and living for God.

It is doubtful that depressed leaders will be very attractive to the followers. If you look like you're about to jump off a cliff, don't expect many followers. Smile. Laugh. Laugh at yourself and laugh with others--not the other way around. As long as you're alive, all things are possible. One of the number one attributes of successful leaders is a positive attitude.

The Leader As Facilitator

Okay, I did it. I'm up with the times. I've downloaded a video blog on the topic of the leader as the facilitator. As someone who has both served as a staff member and now as a senior pastor, I believe that I have insight from both sides of the coin. The keys I've identified are:

1. Recognize the strengths/gifts of those around you.
   
2. Plug them in to a ministry/function about which they are passionate and which compliments their strengths.
   
3. Trust them. Do not micro-manage.
   
4. Praise them for their commitment, for their diligence, and for the outstanding job they do.
   
5. If they need help, let them know that it's perfectly alright to ask, and then invest yourself into them, providing the leadership, training, or guidance that they need. If you don't have the expertise, then find someone who does and let your staff seek training from them, or from an organization that can be of benefit.
   
6. Provide constructive feedback. Highlight the good things before addressing areas where improvement is needed. Never be condescending, but always assume a coaching/mentoring relationship and be willing for others to give you honest feedback about your performance as well.
   
7. Be willing to let them get the credit for successes. Do not hog the spotlight, but always be willing to highlight the achievements/accomplishments of others.
   

Regression Toward the Mean

Extremes are by definition out of the ordinary. In life, in the economy, in history, in theology, in marriages, in parenting, etc., there is, as it were, a pendulum that swings. If you've ever watched a grandfather clock you'll see that the pendulum swings back and forth until it reaches its apex and then descends back toward the gravitational pull and then swings to the opposite extreme. If you assigned a numerical value for each point on the arch of the pendulum from one extreme to the other you would find that if you took the average point total it would be in the middle. The tendency is for life to move toward the mean, the average, the norm.

We often hear rainfall totals or rainfall deficits compared to the average rainfall total. What is the average rainfall total? It is the average of the extremes. The tendency in life is a regression from the extremes to the mean.

In the economy there are constant fluctuations between market expansion and market contraction. There are fluctuations between times of wealth building and recession. However, if the fundamentals of the American economy are sound, then in time the economy will regress toward the mean. It will correct, it will tend toward the norm.

In the current situation we can be sure that unless something is done by the government to prevent it from doing so, the economy will move toward the norm and it will appear that there is a significant improvement. What often happens is that when markets go through their cyclical fluctuations is that the president in office when the market trends lower gets the blame, and the president who holds the office when it trends better takes the credit. People acting out of emotion or blind loyalty often fail to appreciate the normal fluctuations and want to assign the label of goat or hero to the leader, regardless of what real impact he or she had. In truth, President Bush was not a goat and President Clinton was no hero. They just happened to be sitting in oval office as the pendulum swung from one extreme to the other.

Time will only tell where the pendulum will be at the end of President Obama's presidency in four or eight years. But regardless of where the pendulum is, President Obama should not be seen either as a savior or as a goat. However, we should never use the extremes of pendulum as an excuse to institute a social agenda that may have negative long-term effects. A true leader understands these fluctuations and makes provision to insure that there is a social net for those affected by market downturns and that others are not in a position to unfairly take advantage when the market is in an upswing. It will always regress toward the mean unless we impede the progress.

Stimulus Swamp

This is a swamp behind my house. It's actually much larger than this picture captures. I love hiking down to the swamp because one never knows what wildlife one will find. I've seen deer, ducks, frogs, and blue herons; there are beavers, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes. Walking through a swamp is difficult. I try to stay on the tops of the large clumps of swamp grass. Inevitably I will step on something that looks solid and end up in water up to my waist.

As I was walking through the swamp and meditating I thought of the latest stimulus bill signed today by President Obama. It's filled with potential pitfalls. It is guaranteed only to produce a dependency and socialization of banks, medical care, and the auto industry. There is no real guarantee of stimulating any real jobs. This is what happens when the foxes guard the henhouse.

There are many shoes yet to drop. The return of the "fairness doctrine" (to include the internet), the elimination of gun owner rights, the promotion of the homosexual agenda, the creation of life to be destroyed in stem cell research. Can God's judgment be far behind?

Apostle Paul as Leader

I'm working on my dissertation: "The concept of apostleship in the Pauline literature as it relates to Paul's self-identity and leadership paradigm." After reading several articles (with many, many more to go) it occurs to me that Paul's leadership could be characterized by the following adjectives: visionary, passionate, driven, daring, focused, and consistent. He had a distinct sense of calling and of having a Divine directive to do what he was doing.

In contrast, it seems that much of contemporary leadership lacks direction, lacks a clear sense of purpose, and as such, lacks passion. Too much of contemporary leadership appears to be driven by self-centered motives and the concept of personal sacrifice is anathema to many of our leaders who insist on benefits and bonuses while the ship is sinking.

Within ecclesiastical organizations there is an uneasy awareness that a crisis is looming and that something must be done. But what? Doing something, for the sake of doing something (such as passing a "stimulus package" of almost a trillion dollars without real dialogue with all parties involved) is not leadership. Leadership, such as the Apostle Paul epitomized, had a vision, had direction, and had a real sense of Divine directive.

There are some in ecclesiastical circles who advocate using "apostle" as a title and bringing this leadership title back into the church, but to what end. The title alone does nothing to bring about real leadership, and real leaders do not need the title to lead because they have a calling that compels them to do what is right, even if it is sacrificial. I'd agree with Vinson Synan that real apostles don't need the title, but wannabe apostles insist on having the title neatly printed on a business card as an artificial affirmation of a real call that does not exist.

Living In History

Okay. I haven't posted a blog since November 2008 and my wife keeps telling me that if I'm going to blog, then I need to write something. She's right of course, but honestly I've hestitated from writing anything in light of the last election because I didn't want to write anything that might be misconstrued, but let me give it a shot.

We are living in the middle of a historical time, and not just because a bi-racial man is president. More importantly, much more importantly, we are living during a time when America as we know it is changing. We are moving away from a Free-Market model to a Socialist model. This is not necessarily a moral issue. One can be a Christian and be a Socialist. However, the history of other countries who have embraced the socialist model reveals that the outcome of this shift has not been positive. In Europe inflation is a major problem, unemployment is and remains very high, healthcare is inferior to that offerred in America, and most importantly, Christianity has been declining while Islam has continued to grow. Many buildings that were once churches are now Mosques. In fact, the very church from which William Carey was sent forth on his missionary efforts to India, is now a Mosque.

I don't think that we can draw a straight line from Socialism to the decline of Christianity, but there seems to be a correlation that merits interest and futher consideration.

We are in a time of historical shift, so much so, that I believe ten or twenty years from now (if the Lord has not returned by then) we will look back and bemoan that fact that the world changed for the worse, and we stood by and watched it happen.